A Thirty-Something: Jesus Follower. Fire Wife. Mama to Ella.
I'm head-over-heels, crazy-in-love with my husband, our daughter, and our life. It's not always perfect (and I'm not afraid to let that show), but I love it just as it is.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Gluten Free Me

Lately, I've been feeling extremely fatigued (in part due to be anemic, I know), but there has been no reason for the fatigue. I'm not overextended with personal or social obligations. I'm getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night. I'm eating...decently. I'm not depressed--I'm quite the opposite, rather, as the past year and a half have been the happiest days I've known for many years. I feel like I'm constantly fighting off a cold, or the flu. Achey body. Sore throat. Headache. Upset tummy. Irritable. Of course, the first words out of anyones mouth when I divulge my symptoms is, "PREGNANT!" ugh.Mr. Lukie and I were doing some research yesterday online. He's concerned that I seem to not be feeling well most days of the week. He's encouraging me to seek out answers. Make a doctor's appointment and have labs done. I'm hesitant. I've gone in several times over the past three years, complaining of these exact symptoms. In the past, it's been accompanied by unexplained weight loss (which I now chalk up to being extremely unhappy). There is no unexplained weight loss this time (which I chalk up to being extremely happy!) Each time I've gone in, they've done every lab imagineable, and I walk out of there looking (and feeling) much like a pincushion. And each and every time, two weeks later, I receive a phone call, "Sarah, your labs are back and everything is normal and within limits. The only thing you need to be concerned about is that you're quite anemic, and we have sent in a prescription to your pharmacy for iron pills."

That's it. No answers. No suggestions. No explanations. No research. Just the "your labs are normal, it's your imagination, so suck it up, you whiny little girl." Okay, so obviously that's not what is said, but it's certainly how it makes me feel.

This time, instead of sitting in the waiting room for 30 minutes, having 3-4 vials of blood taken & then playing the waiting game for two weeks, I decided to do some research. And my symptoms? Many of them are symptoms of gluten sensitivity, gluten allergy, and Celiac disease. Now, I don't believe I have Celiac disease. But I think it is quite possible that I have a gluten sensitivity.

So. I'm going gluten free for the next 8 weeks (it may be the longest, toughest 8 weeks of my life!) to see if my symptoms seem to be alleviated by the lack of gluten in my diet. And I've got the most supportive husband ever, who is going gluten free with me...so I don't have to resent him ;)

2 comments:

I think this is a great idea. Jim and I have a carb/sugar free house for the most part. We met with a naturalist and he recommended the diet for us. I can honestly say, I do NOT miss carbs as much as I thought I would. Yeah, at times I really wish I could just make a sandwich but we've gotten pretty creative with recipes. We eat TONS and TONS of fruits and veggies and it has made a change in my energy level. I think this might be the diet for you :)

Apart from my trip to Greece (which caused my stomach to be upset EVERY SINGLE DAY), I've gone gluten free for some time now... its an incredible feeling. There's no bloating or tummy aches or uncomfortable bathroom experiences... its like... a warm happy tummy feeling all the time now. I've also cut out dairy, so that might have something to do with it, but there is an incredible difference. Plus the more veggies and legumes you eat in place of gluten products, the better you feel!I would recommend, though you probably already will, to stay away from those high sugar corn products (i.e. gluten free corn flakes etc) that will cause other problems (blood glucose levels).Good luck!